What kills people from 10 to 34 is being in a car, driving a car, being in the way of a car, and despair.

Data from Statistics Canada. CANSIM 102-0551 (Deaths and mortality rate, by selected grouped causes, age group and sex, Canada, annual, 2000 to 2009) with two choices (using Add/Remove Data): ages 1-34 selected and importantly, the general category Accidents (unintentional injuries) [V01-X59, Y85-Y86] split into Transport Accidents (which are really motor vehicle crashes, not accidents) and Non-Transport Accidents. Incidentally, this international standard choice for grouping Transport and Non-Transport together as “Accidents” often obscures the fact that transport crashes are a major cause of death.

The two major elements are bringing high-speed TGV to Rouen and building a new train station, Rouen-Rive-Gauche/Saint-Sever. (The current station is Rouen-Rive-Droite; the original Saint-Sever train station was destroyed in WWII.)

Basically some activity is going to be delayed. The new station and the TGV to Rouen may take until 2030. The report proposed various scenarios, but the final decision hasn’t been made yet. The article linked above says « Tout le suspense repose sur les choix de scénario que vont retenir Parlement et État dans les mois à venir. »

Other lines are already underway and not affected. For example, by 2017, LGV-Est will extend to Vendenheim, just outside Strasbourg. Also there will be TGV to Bordeaux by 2018. The sub-project is LGV Tours – Bordeaux. There’s supposed to be an entire site on the encompassing project, http://www.lgvsudeuropeatlantique.org/but it’s down.

France has two kinds of intercity trains. For shorter distances or smaller towns, or where the high-speed network hasn’t been built yet there are slower trains, the TER and Intercités trains. (Still fast by North American standards.) This post is about first class on these slower intercity trains.

For the slower trains, there are 1st and 2nd classes, but there is no point in getting 1st class. (Disclaimer: At least for trips less than 2 hours, which is what I was taking. I was on 8 trains in total, three different routes.)

France has also been building out a high-speed network, the TGV trains. This connects major cities, across long distances, but is not complete yet. You can see the current lines in blue on this official map or download a detailed PDF map (15MB).

UPDATE 2015-04-11: While the TGV does have a first-class service, it has many similar characteristics to the TER – mostly you’re paying for a bit more space. There may not be a lounge, and there’s no food service. ENDUPDATE

Here’s a handy comparison chart, between Canada’s VIA Business Class (used to be called VIA 1), and French TER/Intercités 1ère classe

[Extensive rewrite of above section.] ENDUPDATE

feature

Canada VIA Business Class

France TER/Intercités 1ère classe

lounge

yes

no

assigned seating

yes

no

priority boarding

yes

no

dedicated car(s)

yes

no, usually half 1st, half 2nd

located for ease of detraining and/or boarding

yes, usually front of train, or near entrance

no

baggage area

yes, large

sometimes a tiny (2 bag) one

lots of room for mid-size bags above seat

yes

no, a purse or small bag at most

seats offer extra space, better materials

yes

no

free drinks

yes

no, no service at all

included meal and snacks

yes

no, no food whatsoever

In summary: French TER/Intercités 1st class is a more expensive version of 2nd class, I’m guessing mostly intended to separate business travelers from regular travelers. It is in no other way better than 2nd class. You end up walking along the train trying to find the first class car (or usually the first class part of a car, indicated by a 1 and an arrow), and then jamming yourself in, no different from second class.

Don’t get me wrong, the French TER/Intercités intercity trains are great. Service is frequent and many towns and even villages have stations. Almost all stations are in the town centre. Just don’t bring a big bag (you will have a hard time even finding space for a carry-on rolling bag) and don’t bother with first class. And buy any food and drink you may want before you get on the train. If there are 3+ of you traveling together, you can try to get to the cars as soon as they announce the track, and look to see if the 4-person tables are available and go in and grab them.

UPDATE 2013-07-02: If you want to know more about the French train network see the complete page of maps from RFF (the rail infrastructure operator) as well as the list of projects. (Linked to French pages as the English pages are out-of-date.)

If you are in London this summer, take the chance to experience beautiful Regent Street without traffic! A Summer Streets event will take place every Sunday in July 2013 (7th, 14th, 21st, 28th) the street will be closed to traffic between 11am and 6pm on each of the pre-arranged dates.

Seeing the city in a new light

There is a lot of interest surrounding the competitiveness of global cites, firstly there are few truly global cities and London is in among the top five. Altering the way people use, or can use city streets, invites new experiences and interpretation of spaces. Our experience in other major international cities has shown that temporary interventions introduce people to architecture they never knew existed; they can look up without fear of being hit by a moving vehicle. Visitors to these spaces are often struck by…